Rhetorical
by Aloemilk
Summary: It has been a week since Lizzie posted the 100th episode of her vlog. William is leaving in a few hours, and the frustration grows as they prepare to say goodbye.


_This is the first story I wrote after about three(!) years of writer's block. It's not even my OTP, but I saw this image in my head after rewatching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Now, all of a sudden, I'm writing again!_

_Thanks to my unbelievable beta Pili 3_

* * *

_April 4th, 2013  
Netherfield_

It had been a week since Lizzie had uploaded the 100th episode of her vlog to YouTube. Since then, she had spent most of her time simply enjoying the presence of her new boyfriend.

It wasn't like she had forgotten her responsibilities. How could she? She knew perfectly well that she was close to graduating, and she had to get ready for that and everything that came afterwards. It wasn't easy to ignore all of that, but it was much harder to willingly waste the little time she had with William before he left. They had only two weeks to be together, but it didn't feel nearly close to enough time. If she could see this objectively, she would accept that four weeks wasn't a terribly long time to be away from each other. She wasn't in the mood to being objective, though, and the time apart they had in front of themselves appeared to be too much. She was giddy with excitement over being in a relationship with someone like William, and she didn't want to have to wait to show him just how much she liked him.

"Is it selfish of me to wish you could stay?" she asked him. She was sitting in a fancy settee in the corner of William's bedroom at Netherfield, keeping him company while he packed his suitcase. He was leaving in a couple of hours, having already scheduled five different meetings for the next day at Pemberley Digital.

"No. It's actually flattering to know you want me to stay." He looked at her over his shoulder, the faintest smile on his lips. "It makes me feel appreciated."

"You are very much appreciated, Mr. Darcy," she replied.

He _was_ appreciated. Since Lizzie had had the opportunity to get to know him better earlier in the year, when she was shadowing Pemberley, things had just never stopped changing. Lizzie was surprised at how quickly her emotions were growing for him, making her feel things she had never experienced, especially after so little time together. She felt happy, involved, excited. And, right now, she also felt frustrated. There was so much she wanted to discover, so much she wanted to learn about him. She wanted to know about his childhood, and what it was like to be the boss of such a successful company; she wanted to know how he reacted to different things, or if he liked to cuddle after sex and what it felt like to give in to their desires. Yes, she was infatuated, and she wanted to know everything about him.

William took a shirt from the bed, methodically folding it, and put it away in his suitcase, then he turned to her. He sat on the settee next to her, and took her hand in his. "I've started to really believe that, but it's still nice to hear the words."

Lizzie sighed, not noticing the sudden change in her expression. "What am I going to do without you?"

"You're not going to be _without_ me. There are phone calls, texts, videocalls; many different tools that we can use to get in touch with each other."

"That's true, but what about this?" she asked, lifting their joined hands. "We've been together for two weeks now, and even though we haven't had much time to be alone, I've grown used to having you close. I don't want to want a hug from you, and not be able to get it."

William raised his free hand and put a lose strand of her hair behind her ear. Then, placing his hand on the side of her face, he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry," he said. "But I really have to go back to San Francisco. I can't keep postponing meetings and decisions. As much as I would like to," he added. "Because I would really like to. You know that, right?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I know. I'm sorry. I have many things to do, too... it's just... it's just that I'm greedy! I've had you for two weeks, but I've had to share you most of the time. We've wasted enough time as it is, and I don't like the idea of having to wait any longer to explore our '_us_'."

"I understand; I've waited long enough, too. I have even waited for a longer time, if I may say so, Lizzie." William said with a slight smile.

"Oh, no, you didn't just say that!" Lizzie complained, pretending to be more annoyed than she actually was, a smile threatening to appear on her face. "Let me remind you that it's you who's so polite can't say no to my mom's invitations for dinner, or to stay up in my room for too long!"

"I have only strived to follow your lead and respect your family. Still, I have been the one doing most of the waiting, so you should consider making it up to me," he said, enjoying the teasing. "We should part on even ground, so as to start anew when we meet in San Francisco."

"I can't believe you!" she laughed, and tried to free her hand from his as she turned away.

William finally gave up the façade, and laughed too, holding her close. Lizzie fought him faintly, more than happy to let him take her in his long arms.

They kissed, their smiles and laughter quickly turning into passion, heavy with the knowledge that they only had a few hours left together. As noble as it was of William to try to lighten the mood to make her happy, they both were feeling an anticipated longing for the time they were going to be apart.

"It's very pleasing when you kiss me like that. It makes me feel wanted," Lizzie said a few moments later, echoing his comment from before. "It's nice to feel that way, so that I can remember it when you're gone."

"You are wanted, Miss Bennet, most ardently," William replied. "I hope you know that? The right time hasn't happened for us yet, but it will."

Lizzie didn't say anything, but instead she kissed him hard, trying to show him how much she wanted _him_.

"Why didn't we _make_ it happen? Why didn't we make our right time happen?" Aggravation was evident in her voice.

"Well, I... I didn't want to assume... I couldn't..." William tried to explain but was at a loss for words.

"Oh, William, it was a rhetorical question!" She grabbed him from the straps of his suspenders, and pulled him towards her. She then surrounded his neck with her arms, to keep him as close as possible as she kissed him with fury. "It's so unfair," she continued, as William kissed her jaw line, then her neck.

"It's only unfair if we let it," William said, as he lifted her and walked to the bed with her. He laid her on the bed and, without looking, threw his clothes onto the floor.

"But your clothes! Your flight!" Lizzie complained, watching him as he came to lie on top of her.

"I can leave tomorrow early in the morning, and still make it on time to my first meeting."

"But... are you sure?"

"Do you want me to not be sure about this? I will do whatever you want me to do."

"I want you to be sure." The change in his eyes, now with a feral light to them, only caused her to feel a buzz of excitement.

"No buts, then. We're having these hours to ourselves."

"Yes," was all Lizzie said, closing her eyes and letting herself be overcome by the sensations William was lighting up on her skin.

She could feel his lips softly exploring the edges of her face, tracing a path down towards her sensitive neck. She encouraged him by running her fingers through his hair, keeping his head close to her skin. As pleasure grew, her soft caresses turned more desperate, and she pressed her fingers into the muscles of William's neck and shoulders. He began exploring the slow rise of her breasts, while she unbuttoned his shirt and pulled at it to try to take it off. William quickly helped her, immediately taking away his undershirt as well. He then bent down and unbuttoned her blouse, kissing the path exposed to him as he did.

Lizzie tried to enjoy every sensation, from the feeling of him discovering her body to the hardness of his own body under her hands. She was surprised to realize there wasn't so much nervousness as reverence in their encounter; they were trying to commit everything to memory.

Afterwards, Lizzie felt almost as if she were glowing, every one of her muscles relaxed. She and William were facing each other, his arm around her waist.

"Your clothes are a mess on the floor," Lizzie commented lazily, slowly drifting away.

"Don't worry, I can do that quickly in the morning. This was far more important, Lizzie. I can go now with the feeling of you in my arms, and that more than compensates for everything else."

* * *

_**Message text, from Lizzie to William**  
**April 11th, 2013 - 07:48pm**  
_Tell me, can you explain why did I ever think that being together would make it easier to be apart?

_**Message text, from William to Lizzie**  
**April 11th, 2013 - 07:53pm**  
_I cannot explain it, but I agree. It's not easy.

_**Message text, from William to Lizzie**  
**April 11th, 2013 - 08:03pm**  
_Expect me there tomorrow, Friday, at 3pm.

_**Message text, from Lizzie to William**  
**April 11th, 2013 - 08:04pm**  
_Well, but isn't it convenient to have a rich boyfriend! Can't wait ;)


End file.
